Chad Littles, 18, of Panama City, died Sunday. He was serving time for failure to pay a fine for possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, resisting an officer without violence and violation of probation for burglary.

The six inmates made first court appearances Monday on open murder counts. Prosecutors or a grand jury will decide the degrees of the charges.

The men were being held at the privately run, minimum-to-medium-security Bay County Correctional Facility Annex.

After the killing, they were moved to maximum security at the main Bay County Jail, also operated by Corrections Corp. of America.

Sheriff Guy Tunnell said Littles was killed in a dormitory housing about 80 inmates after a routine shakedown turned up the tattooing instrument.

"The sad thing is that Littles was not an informant," said sheriff's Capt. Ralph Dyer. "He was called back into his cell to unlock his locker, which guards could not open. The other inmates thought he was a snitch and that he had told guards about the tattooing tool."

When guards let the inmates back into the cell pod, at least four prisoners confronted Littles and began beating him, authorities said.